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So when I was asked to speak at the 2013 Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, I knew this was a topic I wanted to revisit. I spoke for a little over 15 minutes this year, covering seven more exotic destinations to visit for the price of a Vegas weekend. We caught the speech on film for everyone who couldn’t make it, so just hit play to listen in.

After watching my speech, do you plan on visiting any of the destinations I mentioned? I’d love to hear about your travel plans in a comment below.

We’re settling back into our everyday routine after a weekend of fun at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, but we have one more piece of business we need to attend to. We collected names throughout the weekend to gift one lucky attendee a free trip for two to Costa Rica, and it’s time to announce the winner here on our blog.

We have randomly selected one winner, and the anticipation to announce the news is killing me. Drumroll please … The winner of our Captivating Costa Rica tour is Sue Dilella. Congratulations!

Sue, look out for an email from me soon with all the details on how to claim your prize. I’m sure you’ll have a blast. We’d love to feature your trip experience, and we’ll be in touch on how you can share updates and photos that we might post on our blog.

Thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather and snow to come out and see us at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show. We had a great time, and will be sharing more takeaways from the event on our blog in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!

As the Northeast experiences its first bout of Arctic air this winter, many of us have started to dream of destinations with warmer climates, like tropical Costa Rica for instance. If you live in the Philadelphia or the tri-state area, you’re in luck! We’re giving away a free trip for two on our Captivating Costa Rica tour (a combined value of $2,658) at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show this weekend. Visit booth #422 to enter to win a trip to this beautiful and fascinating destination on us!

As an added bonus, all Travel Show attendees who visit the Friendly Planet booth will also receive a special $50 discount coupon for use on any Friendly Planet tour. And of course, the team and I will be there to answer questions and share knowledge about travel destinations all over the world, including Cuba and Myanmar to name a few.

I’ll also be presenting at the show again this year on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 11:45 a.m. I’ll be sharing 7 exotic destinations that you can experience for the price of a Vegas weekend. My goal is to encourage you to trade in that ordinary trip for an extraordinary vacation, and I’ll reveal global hotspots that you can visit for less than the price of a weekend in Las Vegas. Don’t believe me? Come see for yourself!

It’s one thing to ask a question, but can travelers recognize the people and places that make Philadelphia famous just based on a photo? Could you tell the difference between Benjamin Franklin and William Penn? How about Harry Kalas and Bradley Cooper? We put attendees to the test, with the help of a trusty iPad, of course.

I even got in on the action and took the quiz myself. Check it out for yourself to see what picture everyone had the hardest time identifying!

Quiz time — How much do you know about the city of Philadelphia? Our offices are located just a stone’s throw away from there, in Jenkintown, Penn., so we spend a lot of time in the City of Brotherly Love.

We like to consider ourselves local experts, and wanted to know if the attendees of The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel show were just as savvy. Friendly Planet Travel blogger, Caitlin, quizzed passersby on famous Philadelphia landmarks, noteworthy Philadelphians, and how many people visit Philadelphia every year.

In this video, Chris and I chat about natural disasters, and who (if anyone) is at fault when a traveler experiences one far from home. We also mention our favorite destinations, and I couldn’t pick just one. I love traveling too much! See which place we each picked.

I would never offer a tour that wasn’t a terrific value — that’s the core of our business at Friendly Planet Travel. But there are some tours that are so value-packed, I want to point them out specifically.

I had the opportunity to do just that at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show last month. I named my speech “The Top 10 Affordable Destinations of 2012,” and delivered exactly what I promised. Check out my speech in it’s entirety below.

If you don’t have time to watch the full video, I’ve detailed a few of my favorites, as shared in my speech, below.

Pick #9: Ireland. Like Greece, Ireland has gone through some difficult financial times, but you would never know it from the incredibly friendly and welcoming people you’ll meet when you visit. Ireland has always been a popular destination for Americans, but in the coming years, Ireland is expected to see record numbers of tourists. That’s no surprise. The country is beautiful, with lush, green landscapes; picturesque towns and villages; castles galore; and plenty of pubs where you can mix with the locals, especially since they speak your language.

Pick #6: India. This wild, disorganized country of over a billion people is simply amazing. It has plenty of history and culture to experience and admire. It has an educated, entrepreneurial population that is rushing toward modernity at the speed of light. It has the most gorgeous building I’ve seen, the Taj Mahal, and believe me when I tell you that no picture does this palace justice. That’s how all of India is.

Pick #3: China. Each year, we wait to see if interest in China will finally drop among travelers, but it never does. This is a country that continues to amaze travelers, with its ancient history, gorgeous landscapes, incredibly welcoming people, and, of course, the food. Oh, and did I mention that you can buy an entire wardrobe for pennies on the dollar? Travel to China continues to be a terrific bargain.

Pick #1: Cuba. You might be thinking Cuba is a place that Americans can’t visit. But in the past year, the rules have changed, and a few tour operators are lucky to have been granted one of the new people-to-people licenses, including us. This tropical island is a 50-minute flight from Miami, but until recently, it could just have easily been on Mars. Thanks to a liberalizing of laws, Americans can visit Cuba legally. Visiting Cuba is like taking a trip back to the ’50s, and not just because of the cars. When you visit Cuba, you get to see how people have created a life for themselves with very little money or resources. The music is everywhere, street parties abound, and everyone is welcome to attend. It’s quite an experience.

What places are you planning to visit in 2012? One of these or somewhere different? Let me know here.

I’m here to give it to you. In this video, Chris and I discuss how travelers should prepare for a trip. Chris mentions the importance of using a travel agent when picking a destination (I swear I didn’t ask him too!), and we both said packing lightly is travel gospel.

Everyone in the travel industry knows Chris Elliott. You either hate him or you love him. You hate him if you’re one of the airlines, hotels, agencies or other travel industry suppliers who don’t take care of customers according to best consumer practices. You love him if you’re like Friendly Planet Travel, where our travelers’ every pleasure is our primary concern.

Chris has been featured on the blog before, and he and I stay in touch on various travel topics. Chris and I caught up most recently at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show and I was delighted when he sat down for an interview with me. One of my bloggers, Caitlin Davis, served as moderator. But I’ll tell you the truth — we didn’t do much preparation. Chris loves travel and so do I. It doesn’t take much to get both of us going on the topic, as you’ll see once the cameras started rolling. This is the first of three videos from this interview, so keep your eyes on this space for parts two and three. Hope you enjoy it!

When I heard Pat and Regina were going to be at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, I jumped at the chance to have a member of our blogging team, Caitlin, sit down with them for an interview. I’m so glad they did and while we were together, we had them sign a few copies of their new book that we’ll be giving away on the blog. Stay tuned for details about that.

Caitlin asked Regina and Pat about their favorite places to visit, why they chose to feature women’s rights in their show, where we can look forward to seeing them next (which I was excited to hear!), and much more. Hit play below.

Readers, keep your eyes on this space for our upcoming giveaway of two signed copies of Pat and Regina’s book, “The Grannies on Safari: A Travel Journal,” a photo collection of all the places they’ve been.